Essence of Crimson Roses
by TechnicolorVisions
Summary: Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,but be the serpent under 't.  Macbeth. ACT I Scene 5
1. Sorting Hats and a New Beginning

**Essence of Crimson Roses**

**By: Technicolor Visions and LeLoUcH Fan Girl**

**(Prequel) 1: Sorting Hats and a New Beginning**

Albus Severus got off the train, his stomach a massive jumble of jittery nerves; he tried to recall the words of encouragement his father had given him. Never in his life had he been so utterly terrified, and for such a trivial reason. Maybe the thoughts and feelings harbored from one James Sirus Potter, A.K.A The-Boy-who-likes-hyphenated-words. Since Albus had received his Acceptance letter, his older brother had come up with the notion that it would be a good idea to put the idea of having Albus "disgrace" the family by being sorted into the infamous, and much resented, Slytherin house. It was with shaking hands, that Albus made his way to the boats. Thinking of ways to manipulate the students around him, so that they would leave him alone about his parentage. He was not as oblivious as his siblings, and had taken the time to fully understand just how powerful his dad was. He still had a hard time connecting the eternally joyful and compassionate Healer he knew as dad, with the famous Harry "The Chosen One" Potter. He knew he would be offered some very influential friendships just because of who his father was, but Albus refused to be remembered as an afterthought in the history books. Albus would make a name for himself that would make his dad even more proud of him than of James.

Albus was pulled out of his thoughts when Deputy Headmaster Longbottom, who he had known all his life as Nev, cleared his throat and began giving the speech every First year had to endure about the houses, and their history. Professor Longbottom caught his eye and smiled at him as he finished speaking and opened the doors to the Great Hall. Albus took a deep breath and walked confidently into the hall, the rest of the first years following like terrified lambs to the slaughter.

Turning his shoulder, Albus caught the silver gaze of the youngest Malfoy, feeling a grudging respect towards the only other first year with the guts to walk confidently to the front of a hall filled with an excited hush, smirking as the hat was placed on his unnaturally blonde hair. After a pregnant pause, the hat finally filled the hall with a cry of "SLYTHERIN!" Scorpius Malfoy strutted to the table where the he was immediately accepted as the new Slytherin Prince, little did he know that his reign would be cut short.

When his name was called, Albus smirked at his brother, wondering if James would make him sit by him when he was done being sorted. Albus rolled his eyes knowing his brother would make him sit in the middle of his obnoxious friends. He broke eye contact when the hat came over his vision. He heard a voice whisper in his ear, it seemed to take longer than Albus thought it would, as him and the hat conversed. Finally the Hat shouted out, "Slytherin!"

The hall was silent except for the voice of James- Brain Dead-Potter, who stood and yelled, "YEAH! BABY BRO IN THE LIONS DEN! PARTY TONIGHT! WHOOOOP!" His victory dance was cut short when he finally came to his senses and came to the same stunned realization as the rest of the hall had come to know. His baby brother had not only been sorted into another house, but had been sorted into the vile rival house of James' very own house. Slytherin. James sat down silently, trying to figure out how this had happened.

Albus sat on the stool for a few more minutes before finally rising to shaking legs. Gulping, he held his head high, as his feet moved to the table farthest from his brother. He sat apart from the others, feeling as though a giant target had been pinned to his chest. Finally a single clap ran through the hall. Scorpius Malfoy caught the eye of his new housemate and smirked, ignoring the shocked glances from the other students.

Rose Weasley was the only child left after the great Potter shock of the century. Skipping happily up to the stool, she grabbed the hat, and thrust it onto her head. It took less than a second before the tattered hat cried out, "GRYFFINDOR!" This time, James's clapping and cheering was accompanied with the others in his house. Giving the red haired girl a bright smile, he motioned for her to take the seat next to him. She smiled and gracefully made her way over to the offered spot, and before sitting down, she gracefully slugged him in the shoulder. James merely laughed at his friends actions, feigning injury as the headmistress started the feast.

Albus looked down at the wonderful display of food around him, but he did not fall onto the delicious smelling food like the other first years did. Raking his fork through his potatoes, Albus wished that he could just disappear. "So," Scorpius Malfoy suddenly appeared next to James, setting his plate down and continuing to eat for a moment. Finally, looking up, he said, "you planning on catching that Golden Snitch while I score us as many points as possible."

Looking up, Albus was shocked, thinking that the Malfoy heir was just messing around. Seeing the smirk adorning the marble face, Albus smirked back, "You know it Malfoy." Conversation with Scorpius flowed easily for James, he found that the young boy was just as Qudditch savvy as he was, and found a delight in the devilish plans that Scorpius shared with Albus. Albus was ripped from his happy conversation, as his brother roared with laughter across the hall.

James caught his brother's stare and spoke loudly over the students, "Wonder what dad will say when he finds out there's a dark lord in the family?" The hall erupted with laughter, all except for the Slytherin table. The idea of having Potter in their house was unsettling, but NO ONE disgraced one of their own.

A seventh year opened his mouth to speak, but Albus smoothly replied, "I believe we've had this discussion before brother dear." the Great Hall shushed as they waited for the Potter brothers to fight, "After all, we both know that you're just upset that the Qudditch Cup will never be connected to your name."

"Bring it baby bro! I'd like to see how confident you are when you DON'T make the house team," James smiled widely at his brother.

"Not only will I make the team, but I'll make the team using a school broom instead of your novelty Firebolt 260," Albus smirked as James looked as though he had been slapped.

Scorpius smirked, "Be quiet Potter. You're just upset we got your superior brother." Slytherin house erupted into cheers, all sliding closer to Albus as Scorpius shared a look with his new found friend.

James searched for a comeback, eyes landing on Rose, 'Well we got a perfect set of Weasleys! And we all know how you love losing to them Al."'

"We all know that Gj and Fred can barely ride a broom. And as for Rose, well, she's just a girl after all," Scorpius replied.

"EXCUSE ME?" Rose slammed her fork down, daggers shooting from her eyes. Breathing deeply, she sighed, "You both are acting like immature twerps. Will you please sit down, shut up, and eat!"

James did as told, knowing that Rose's temper was not something one should ever want to be on the receiving end of. Albus motioned for Scorpius to say nothing more, also knowing of how violent the girl Weasley could be when angered.

McGonagall smiled to her deputy Headmaster, "I think this should be a very interesting seven years."

Neville looked out to the children he had known for all their lives. Smiling widely, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Those children...Merlin help them all.

**A/N: Hey y'all! I hope you like this, my BFF and I are writing it together, so updates may be a little slow, depending on schedules, but this story will most likely not be dropped. Please ask any questions you may have for us in your reviews that I know all of you will be kind enough to leave, because you are all good, upstanding FanFiction Addicts right? Just as I thought, well thank you for allowing our story to rot your brain! See you next chapter! **

**Max N Angel **


	2. Reflections on a Silver Pool

**Essence of Crimson Roses**

**By: Technicolor Visions and LeLoUcH Fan Girl**

**Prologue Chapter 2: Reflections on a Silver Pool **

****5 years later** **

As Albus put his stuff in his trunk in preparation for the upcoming summer break, a tattered photo album caught his eye. He smiled and picked it up, running his fingers across the worn emerald cover. In gold letters was simply "Memories", the album had been a birthday present from his Aunt Hermione just as he was about to enter Hogwarts. Deciding that reminiscing would be the perfect way to procrastinate, Albus flipped the cover open, the smell of old parchment and something orange tanged floated through the air as he caught sight of his First Year photos.

The first was simply, what Albus considered in his mind the best one out of all of them, a Qudditch photo with the rest of the Slytherins. Sharing the weight of the golden trophy, Albus and Scorpius popped identical smirks as they clung tightly to the Qudditch Cup. A sullen James could be seen in the background. The term, "If looks could kill," came to Albus' mind. He remembered when he had done exactly what he told James he would do. Not only did he make the Slytherin Qudditch team, but he did in fact do it on a school broom, out flying even the older students. Albus will never forget the look of scorn James gave him as Harry sent him a congratulatory letter, expressing that Albus had done even better than he had. After all, Albus was considered one of the best Seekers Hogwarts had ever seen, overshadowing even his father.

Smiling at the thought, Albus looked to the next page; a black and white photo met his emerald gaze. It was of him and Scorpius, both wearing their signature smirks and looking at each other from the corner of their eyes before snapping them back to the camera. It had taken exactly three hours before Albus found his new best friend, him and Scorpius easily falling into a comfortable banter and friendship.

Skipping the next few pages, deeming them as less important, he turned to his second year montage. A laugh escaped his mouth as his eyes landed on the image of his and Rose's couch fort in his living room. The red head girl stood proudly in front of the shelter, smirking in a very Slytherin manner for her. "The Chamber of Gryffindor" was drawn with crayon on a piece of parchment, and then taped to the side of the fort. It had been the summer when his father had decided to tell Rose and himself about how he entered the Chamber of Secrets, and that everyone at Hogwarts thought that he was the heir of Slytherin. Even though Albus tried ignoring the little jokes Rosie made, he couldn't help but play along when her and George started talking about the idea of having an Heir of Gryffindor, and being able to talk to...mammals. A smile overtook his smirk as Albus stared at his favorite cousin, excitement floated through his body as he thought about their summer plans.

He looked over at the picture of Lily in her new Ravenclaw uniform standing happily with Stella. The two had a love for strange creatures, Lily had, like Albus, inherited the ability to talk to snakes. Unlike Albus however, she thought that this gift was amazing and always seemed to have a few snakes on her all the time. Even in the picture below, Lily had a grass snake wrapped around her wrist and a coral snake wrapped firmly around her neck like a chocker. The two snakes were super protective of Lily and had become some of her closest friends when she was alone the year before. Albus could talk to snakes too, but he didn't walk into class with poisonous snakes wrapped around his body.

Third year was definitely one of the more exciting. It was the year that Rose had finally tried out for the Qudditch team (after being harassed by himself and James of course). As expected, the redhead made the team easily, surprisingly taking the position as Beater. Albus had to admit, Rose had an arm, and he had many bruises and broken limbs to remind him of this. But the reason Albus loved this picture so much, was because once again, Slytherin had won the Qudditch Cup. And instead of just James in the background, it was his brother AND Rose. Of course the difference was that Rose was plotting his death, and almost succeeded that summer.

Skipping to the picture of Rose smiling, Albus shook his head. Albus had decided that it would be a good idea to constantly remind Rose who had won not only the Qudditch Cup, but also the House Cup, .day. After weeks Rose finally snapped, tackling Albus into the floor and smothering him with the pillow. His parents had thought nothing of this, only until they heard the slight cry of pain. Letting him up, Rose discovered, not only had she tackled her cousin, but she had managed to make him hit his jaw on the coffee table, thus leaving a very nice scar three years later.

Running his finger of the puckered scar, Albus flipped through his fourth year. He had to admit, his fourth year seemed to be the worst of his stay at Hogwarts. Sure there was the constant homework, and Qudditch practice that seemed to take a mental toile on the young boy. But Albus felt as though it had missed something that for some reason, that year just seemed to drag by as slowly as possible. There was only one bright spot to that bleak fourth year, and that was the one of Neville Longbottom smiling widely while holding a tray of freshly baked cookies. The Herbology teacher was always coming up with some excuse or another to land Albus, Rose, Stella, Lily, and James in detention, only because he wanted to spend time with what he considered his own children.

Knowing them from birth, Neville felt he had a strong bond with them; after all he had no children to claim as his own. Yes, he had in fact married Luna Lovegood, but that was only when the woman became a widow. Her late husband, a muggle, had blessed Luna with a little girl named Stella who was the exact replica of her sweet and innocent mother. Unfortunately, fate frowned upon Luna and her family. At the age of 22 Luna's husband, Christophe, had become ill with the muggle disease known as cancer. Two years later, Luna was left alone, seeming to fall into a depression that was opposite of the woman's personality. It had been Neville who had been her saving grace, and soon was married to the girl he had always loved. Though Stell was Neville's adopted daughter, he craved for a child to be his own, to have his blood and genes running through their body. Albus had once asked Stella why she didn't call Neville dad. All she said was that Neville was not her real father, and thought that it was only right to try and keep her father's memory alive.

It had been at that moment where something in Albus clicked, he didn't exactly know what it was, but there was some unending desire to keep Stella from any harm. He brushed the thought of any feeling besides friendship off, he didn't believe in such muggle sayings as the "Love at first sight."

Albus pushed all thoughts of the pretty blonde girl from his mind as he came to his last and previous year at Hogwarts. Fifth year definitely been the best so far, not only because of Qudditch (which they won of course), but from the friendships with his cousins and house. Through the course of the year, Slytherin and Gryffindor had come to a stand-off, both houses deciding that they would find out who was the dominate house. So the games began. It started out simple, just games of Wizards Chess and Exploding Snap, but it soon turned into a dangerous game of who had the most guts. There was picture after picture of duels being fought, of practical jokes being set off into the middle of classes. Albus' personal favorite was when he had bewitched a sprig of mistletoe to follow around one Rose Weasley, and whatever boy happened to come to close to her, would be stuck with a sticking charm with her until they kissed. Unfortunately for Scorpius he had been said boy….three times in one day. There was a play by play of the first moment. The looks of horror and disgust, of the refusal from each party, and finally to the kiss which ended in both of them pretending to vomit. By the third time Rose was caught under the devil sprig with Scorpius, she had simply grabbed him by the collar, kissed him hard, and walked away, much to the amusement of Albus and the bewilderment of Scorpius.

Snapping the photo album shut, Albus threw it back into his trunk, snapping it shut tightly before tucking himself into his cloak. Looking around his emerald and silver bedchamber, he swore silently that he would continue with his good year, and would try and make his summer even greater than his schooling had been. So with a quick whisper of Knox, he left his room, and boarded the train to take him home.

**A/N: Hello! This is the second chapter in the prologue the story will start next chapter. I would ask you to review, but I know you are all upstanding Fan Fiction readers and were already planning on this, so I don't even have to ask. Thank you for being awesome! Sorry for such short chapters, we need to get everything out of the way, and we felt some background to the characters would help :) the following chapters will be much longer starting….NOW!**

**Much Love,**

**Max n Angel**


	3. The Train Ride Home

_**Essence of Crimson Roses**_

**By: Technicolor Visions and LeLoUcH FanGirl**

**Chapter 1 : The Train Ride Home **

**~Albus~**

If someone would have told me that when I entered Hogwarts, I would become best friends with the son of my father's longest nemesis, I would have laughed at them and taken them to go visit the mental ward at . But five years later, here I was, sharing a compartment with one Scorpius Malfoy. Currently my battered chess board was set up between us, Scorpius was wearing a serious look as he contemplated what move to make. I leaned back, crossing my arms, smirking as I watched my best friend try to figure out what my battle strategy was.

Scorpius had once told me that he would only play chess with someone if they could keep up with his thinking process and had more of a personality then paint drying. Of course I had then questioned him if he would even consider playing a Gryffindor if they could match his demands. Instead of giving me a proper answer; Scor broke out into a fit of laughter, doubling over as tears threatened to leak from his grey eyes. After several seconds of uncontrolled hysteria, Scorpius had said "The day I play with a bloody Gryffindor, is the day when the Dark Lord rises again!" From that day on I never questioned Scorpius' feelings towards the Lion Lovers.

Personally, I didn't have anything against Gryffindor. My house was filled with Gryffindor Alumni, so I had always figured that I would one day follow everyone's footsteps and land in the Lions Den, unfortunately that hadn't happened. Either way, I was used to the dangerous crazy schemes that my siblings and cousins came up with. I had learned that Gryffindor's did have courage, and that it was wise to sometimes just walk away slowly. Yes, at school I did give in to the rivalry between the snakes and the kittens, but I only would let it go so far, they were my family after all. Still, I did find some amusement in tormenting the Gryff's.

"Got you Al," Scorpius finally moved his knight, sitting back and smirking proudly.

Impossible! I raked my eyes over the board, pushing the panic out of my veins. I hated losing, and losing to Scorpius was even worse. Concentrating as hard as I could, I tried formulating a plan. And there it was. Allowing Scorpius two more turns of confidence, I slowly got ready to strike. Finally, I made my move. Sliding my piece across the board I proclaimed, "Checkmate."

Throwing his king to the floor Scor gave me a venomous look, "I really hate you sometimes Potter."

"Eh, like I could really care," I ran a hand through my hair as Scorpius sulked.

"Hello brother dearest," the compartment door banged open loudly as James barged in, without being invited he fell onto a seat, smiling, "And how are you this fine day?"

"Quite fine until you decided to barge in," I replied as Scorpius joined me.

"Ah, well then I've done my job!" James smiled broadly as he scooched over to make room for Rose who had just entered.

"Hey Al," smiling brightly, my favorite cousin gave me a hug before sitting down, throwing a nasty look at Scorpius.

"Oh gods, Weasley just entered, I can tell by the sent of trash in the air," Scorpius scrunched his nose, waving a hand in the air.

"Oh like you're one to talk Malfoy," Rose snapped, "As I recall, YOU were the one who crash landed in the garbage dump last week during the scrimmage. Have you managed to fully bathe away the putrid scent of humiliation yet?"

And that is one reason why I love my cousin. Rose was one of the few people who could keep up with Scorpius' tongue when she wanted. Their rivalry came from years of Scor tormenting Rose about being a Weasley (which I couldn't fathom what was wrong with that, and I was sure he couldn't either), and from Rose thinking of him as nothing more then a spoiled little boy. Though they both never went too far, Scorpius always knew when to end the teasing, and so did Rose. The arguing never lasted long in front of me, though I'm sure if I left them in a room together there would be blood shed.

"Yes, yes very funny indeed Ro," I smirked at my two best friends. They both sat back with one last venomous glare.

"Hey! Family time!" I swear Lily's voice could shatter glass if she truly wanted.

I opened my mouth to yell at her to shut up, but the words caught in my throat as Stella walked in behind my sister. Stel and Li sat down on my side, both smiling widely. I tore my gaze away from the blonde girl, trying to hear what everyone was saying.

"So how does it feel to finally graduate?" Rose asked James, sitting sideways to look at him.

Leaning forward, J shook his head, "A little surreal actually, I keep waiting for someone to jump out and yell 'SURPRISE', or for me to wake up from this dream."

"Do you not what you are going to do after the summer?" Stella asked, sitting cross legged on the seat. Her knee brushed my arm, and I pulled it away as a small shock ran through my skin.

"Not really actually," James admitted, scratching the back of his head, "I actually thought I would try my hand at Curse Breaking."

The compartment went silent as we all let that sink in. Now my brother may act the part of a fool, but his head was not filled with saw dust. James excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts, along with Ancient Runes. We had had this conversation before possibly only days ago, so it didn't come as big a shock to me as it did everyone else.

"That's wonderful J!" Rose recovered, smiling and hugging my brother.

"You'll make a great Curse Breaker," Lily joined in a second later, going to sit next to James and hugging him.

Out of my family, I was the only one who had inherited my mothers red hair. It was dark, but definitely red. James and Lily both had my dad's dark hair, but we all shared dad's eyes, the bright emerald green that everyone seemed to love. Like me, Rose had received Uncle Ron's (her dad) flaming red hair. Where mine was more subdued, Rose's was bright and I swore turned to flames when she was mad. She was a Weasley through and through, from the red hair, blue eyes, and freckles that splashed across her nose. The only thing she had inherited from her mother was olive skin, and even then it was washed out. If anyone were to look into the compartment, the only one who would stand out would be Scorpius. With his white blonde hair, grey eyes, and pale skin, he almost look unreal compared to the rest of us.

The conversation soon turned from James to Qudditch, as it usually did when we all got together. Though I admit Scorpius was not a favorite around my siblings and cousins, they tolerated him, I think mostly for my benefit then anything else. I appreciated that they made an effort to not be nasty to him when I was around, and I knew that this summer was going to be a challenge with them since Scor was going to stay with my family for almost a month.

When I had asked my dad if Scorpius could stay, he was a little reluctant at first, probably because him and had some rivalry thing going on. After letter after letter of me all but begging him to allow it, my dad gave in. I was sure my mum had something to do with his. Though I was sure mum hated the senior Malfoy as much as my father, I think she understood that it was time for change, and I had a small guess that she was willing to forgive and somewhat forget. Of course when Uncle Ron found out, well, that was just disturbing. He sent three Howlers to me, trying to persuade me to tell Scorpius that he couldn't spend the summer with me. I was bribed with season Puddlemere United tickets, to as many Galleons as my heart desired. It all ended when mum found out and gave, what I was sure, a nasty hex to her brother.

It would be difficult to keep the peace, and as I watched Rose and Scorpius start an argument over their game of Exploding Snap, I knew I was in for a battle. All I could hope for was a minimal amount of peace, and possibly that there was no blood shed.

There was exactly one tradition that I will allow myself to take part in with my family, and that is the Platform Jump. Sounds simple, but trust me, it's not. The story goes that when James came home from his first year at Hogwarts, he was so happy to see us, that when he caught sight of my dad eagerly waiting, he jumped from the carriage while throwing his arms in the air yelling "IT'S HARRY BLOODY POTTER!" and threw himself at my dad while everyone around him laughed at their antics. From that day, each of us has joined in on that little interaction. The calls changed between "The Man-Who-Lived" to "The Dad Who Needs to Give Me More Money" that one was bestowed by Lily. As the train came closer to the station, we all changed quickly, my siblings and I preparing for the greeting ritual. What I forgot at the moment of reminisce, was that I forgot to tell my best friend about what was about to happen.

So when Lily, James, and I literally threw ourselves at my dad yelling, "PATRONUS POTTER!" I was sure he had thought that I had gone over the deep end. When we finally all untangled I placed a hand on Scorpius' shoulder and pushed him forward, "Dad, this is Scorpius Malfoy."

The smile fell from my dad's face as he let go of Lily, it came back a second later (though it looked forced) when mum put her hand through dads. So with a pained grimace dad said, "It's nice to finally meet you Scorpius. I'm glad that you could come stay with us."

Mum took over seeing as dad was shooting quick glance at Ron and Hermione who were watching us closely, while Rosie whispered quickly to them. She embraced Scorpius, and he stiffened at my mothers forwardness, "I'm sure you boys will have a wonderful time. I know our house is probably going to be a tad bit strange to you, but I do hope you'll like it."

Being able to keep a cool head, Scorpius smirked at my mother before replying smoothly, "I'm sure that everything will be satisfactory, thank you for having me."

Mum looked a little taken aback by the formalities, but smiled and motioned for the Weasley's to join us. Hermione was the first to say anything, but it was directed towards my parents, "Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Of course!" Mum beamed at her friend, "Come around whenever you want. James is having a few of his friends over and I'm sure Rose will have Lily and Stella to keep company with."

"Nah, she'll be with me of course!" James put an arm around our red-haired cousin, "she's part of our little group after all."

"Well there we go!" Dad laughed as Rose smiled up at my brother.

"Is there anything we need to bring," I blocked out everything else that the adults were exchanging, instead turning to see Scorpius watching them all with a curious expression.

"Sorry about my mum," I scratched the back of my head, "She was a bit forward."

"It's alright," Scor rolled his eyes, "It was just a bit of a shock that was all. I appreciate that she didn't try and hex me or anything."

I couldn't hold back the peal of laughter as I saw the serious expression that he wore. "Don't worry, my parents would never dream of doing that to someone underage!"

"Thanks for the confidence booster there mate," Scorpius rolled his eyes before we followed my parents through the gates. Bidding farewell to my Aunt and Uncles, and sliding into the car.

As we started driving, I saw the uncertainty coursing through Scor's eyes. James and Lily did little to help his doubts about traveling the muggle way as they kept talking about the car crashes that had recently happened, including every gory detail. Mum finally shut them up with one of her Stares of Death. For the rest of the ride, Scorpius was bombarded with questions from both of my parents. Dad was stiff for the first few minutes, but as he got to know a little more about my friend, his shoulders fell and he slumped like he usually did.

It took a little over an hour before we finally reached my home. The house was set in the middle of Dean Woods, surrounded by tall pines and twenty minutes away from the Weasley's. My dad had supposedly wanted to be away from the Wizarding World, but not so much that we were separated. If you went about ten miles into the woods, you crossed the magical barrier. Fortunately the house was hidden enough that we were still able to fly around.

Our house was fairly large, mostly due to mum I think. The top level consisted of a large kitchen, a living room, four bedrooms plus two guest rooms, an office for dad, and a patio that lead to the balcony overlooking the back yard. The bottom half was a game room, and an extra bedroom. The game room led to the pool outback that was surrounded by a gate that led to the forest outside. I had grown up here all my life, so none of the muggle appliances held any interest to me, but Scorpius was overwhelmed to say the least. Mum didn't need any prompts as she began explaining what each foreign item was used for.

After settling Scorpius into the guestroom next to mine, I took him down the game room, introducing him to my favorite muggle item, our game system. For someone who had never grown up with anything muggle, Scor caught on fast, and soon had me on my toes.

"Boys dinner!" Mum voice rang down the stairs, just as a loud bang from our game echoed through the room.

"One sec!" I yelled, twisting my controller to try and shoot Scorpius.

"You're bloody terrible at this game," Scorpius smirked as he easily dodged my attack.

"Beginners luck!" I spat at him.

"Mum said now!" Lily screeched from the doorway.

"Alright, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist Lil, we're coming," I threw my controller down, shutting the game off just as Scor was about to win. We would definitely not be playing that game again.

"Don't tell your sister such crude things Albus," Mum scolded as we sat down at the table.

"Well if she didn't scream like a banshee I wouldn't have to," I countered.

"Sorry about them, they seem to think it's ok to act like a pack of wild animals," Dad sighed to Scorpius who laughed.

"It's fine, I'm sure Al and I have said worse to each other," Scorpius said, much to the amusement of my family.

I had been to Malfoy Manner one time, and the whole time Scorpius not once said anything to his father or mother, only answering politely when needed. They were stiff and I felt like I had to sit up straight and not put my elbows on the table. But as I watched Scorpius engage in a Qudditch conversation with my father, I saw him relax. I always thought that maybe Scor just wanted to be somewhere he could feel comfortable in, and my family had that effect on people, one that I was grateful they had.

"Scorpius, do you think you're mother and father would like to join us tomorrow for our cookout?" Mum asked, dad and Scorpius both choked on whatever they were eating.

I slapped Scor on the back hard, which earned me a glare, "Just trying to save you mate."

"Gin," dad started, "I don't think that's necessary."

"Yes. It. Is," Mum growled out and dad looked down at his plate, muttering, "damn Weasley blood."

"Uh," Scorpius composed himself quickly, smoothing his hair back down, "I'm sure they would enjoy that. But are you sure it wouldn't be an inconvenience?"

"Of course not!" Mum smiled happily, sipping at her drink, "I'll owl them later giving them the Floo directions."

The conversation luckily turned as Lily flung a roll at James. As dinner finally ended and everyone retired to their own places, I found Scorpius and myself sitting back in the game room, tossing the Quaffle back and forth.

"You think your dad is going to come?" I asked, shuffling the red ball between my hands.

Scorpius sighed heavily, "Yes, he'll feel inclined to since I'm staying here. The real question is: Who is going to throw the first blow?"

"And yet again, you are right," I threw the Quaffle back to him, running a hand through my hair, "I guess all we can do is hope for a miracle."

"Come now Potter, you know as well as I do that no such thing is going to happen."

"True, mate. Hopefully mum will remember to cast some defense charms."

"No, I'm sure your mother is the type to just let them knock the shite out of each other."

"You're right on that one. I think we better prepare for tomorrow then."

Smirking, Scorpius dropped the Quaffle, "What are you plotting Al?"

"Me? Plotting?" I held my hands up innocently, "You wound me with that unspoken acquisition."

"Oh come off it, what are you planning?" Scorpius snapped.

"Just that tensions are going to be high tomorrow, so I figure that some harmless fun would be nice," I shrugged my shoulder, standing and starting towards the stairs.

"Potter, watch yourself. I know that smirk, and if you do anything to me, I will not stop myself from retaliating," Scorpius.

Standing in my doorway, I smirked at my best friend, "I look forward to the challenge then."

With that I closed my door, the perfect plan formulating through my had. I wasn't in Slytherin for a reason, and my family was in for some…harmless fun. Tomorrow, though dangerous as it could be, was going to be a day to remember.

**A/N: Alright guys, Max (Technicolor Visions) here. I finally forced myself to sit down and write this chapter. It took me forever for some reason (my sudden case of ADD probably) Luckily some Pandora, , and insomnia allowed me to come up with this little thing you have just read. Please leave reviews, which I know being the wonderful amazing readers you are, will ;) Any comments/suggestions are always welcomed :) Hope you liked it!**

**Post Script (cause I'm just so cool I write it out): Check my profile for the character links, and I'll be adding some more soon here since I need to talk with my lovely co-author about the next chapter. Never fear, the next should be out by at least Monday! **

**Post Post Script: Thank you Z for reading! :) **


	4. Of Family and Fire

**Chapter 2: Of Family and Fire**

**JamesPOV**

Family is one of the most important things to me; I would do anything for them. My mum and dad were some of the best parents anyone would be jealous over. Mum had a temper, but when she wanted, she could easily sit down and play videogames with me, or be one of the most loving and caring people you could ever imagine. My dad, the famous Harry Potter (though I couldn't really see it), was what Aunt Hermione calls a "goof ball", dad could never take anything serious, he was always joking and playing around with my siblings and me, but when needed, he was one of the fiercest people that I knew. Then came my two younger siblings, Albus (who was just about to turn sixteen), and Lily (the baby at fourteen). Albus and me could argue and fight for hours on end, but don't get me wrong, Al and I have a lot in common. We both love Qudditch, anything to do with sports really. Sure, we had that whole house rivalry thing going on during the school year, but I had never truly hated my brother just because he was a snake. Baby Lily was so sweet and happy, that people would underestimate her. Sure Lily hated anything to do with mud or anything to make her break into a sweat, but that girl had an evil mind and was just as mischievous as Uncle George. We used to have family nights together, but that ended once we were all in Hogwarts and mum and dad started working again. Dad was busy at 's taking care of all the sick patients, and mom was usually training with the Harpies almost every day of the summer. We managed though; there was a lot of movie nights, or one on one time. But when I found most of my family busy with their own thing, I had a backup.

At Hogwarts, I had four guys who I actually considered best friends, for lack of a better word. The five of us have been friends ever since our sorting, and happily claimed the top spots in Gryffindor. After playing on the same team for seven years, sharing detentions, and having the same classes every year, all of us were pretty tight. There was Ethan Chance, who was my right hand man, with his dark brown hair, and matching eyes, he was what one would call the jock in our group, he was the most serious about Qudditch then the rest of us, and supposedly he was going to try out for the Bulgarian team this summer. Jayden Thomas was the joker of our group, he was actually working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, being Uncle George's apprentice, he had light brown hair, and was never seen without a smile. Third there was William Green, at Hogwarts he had been the "player" as Rose dear had bestowed upon him, Will liked dating, but found it incredibly boring after the first week. It was easy for him to get girls with his blonde hair and hazel eyes, Lily said he was hot, and I felt like puking knowing that my little sister was crushing on my best friend. And finally, there was Teddy Lupin, who was like family to me….oh wait….he actually was family, my god-brother actually. Since I could remember Teddy has always been at my house, with his color changing hair, and bright blue eyes, he looked like his parents (well from what I could tell from the photograph that I had seen). Teddy was serious all the time, always the one who would put work before fun. Of course he was a Gryffindor for a reason, and used his deadly smarts to help us plot some of our most ingenious plans ever.

The five of us were always together, well when we could that was. Summer was always a time for us to get together, so it was no surprise when the four of them showed up suddenly in my room at four in the morning, throwing me out of bed and demanding for me to get up so they could go swimming. I only argued about sleep, because I had been wanting to go swimming since the moment I got home yesterday. Still no matter how hard I tried going back to sleep, they were set upon their idea. So that led to sneaking out of the house and trying to keep quiet as we opened the pool and jumped in.

We almost got away with it too, if my mum hadn't had to get up and get ready for the party later on. At about six o'clock she suddenly appeared on the railing above, "What the bloody hell do you boys think you're doing? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Hey Mrs.P," Jayden waved happily, "Did you sleep well?"

I smacked my palm against my forehead, "Sorry mum!"

"James Sirius Potter! What gives you any idea that this was alright?" Mum screeched, the coffee in her mug sloshed out and went spilling overboard.

"It's our fault ," Ethan scratched the back of his head, moving in the way of Teddy dunking Will underwater, "We came over unannounced and didn't really give J any choice."

Mum shook her head, violently running a hand through her messed up hair, "Fine then," I held in the cheer, "you all can swim, but," oh Merlin, "in an hour I need James to go to Hermione's to go get some things. Deal?"

"Does this deal include food by chance?" I asked off hand.

"Yeah, it sure does!" Mum smiled brightly, I smiled happily up to my mum, "There's some bread in the cupboard, help yourselves."

With that mum left, happily dancing back into the house as we all stood there confused. Teddy's bright yellow hair turned gray as he tried coming to terms with what my mother had just said, "Does she mean we have to make ourselves something?"

"Great detective work genius!" William snapped, jumping onto Teddy and holding him under water. My mum's words were soon forgotten as I focused on rescuing my god-brother, only ending in a war with Ethan and the others. Before I knew it, our hour was up, and I only knew this because suddenly all the water in the pool disappeared, and above our words of shock, I could hear my mother's cackles from somewhere upstairs.

So after hurriedly throwing on cargo shorts and a red jersey I ran outside while mum sent a hoard of flying books at me and the guys. It wasn't that far to walk to my Aunt and Uncle's place, just about five miles south of our house, we shared this huge piece of land together, so we had always grown up being around family. My relative's house was the exact replica of my house, except their house had a room dedicated to nothing but books.

"I've never been to Rosie's before," Ethan commented as we wound our way through the trees.

"Nothing there to do," Teddy said, "all they do is read and watch the telly."

"That's all we do," I smirked, "you'll like it there, there's always something blowing up."

"From Rose?" Will asked, jumping over a log.

"Hugo," Teddy and I shared a smile.

"Who?" Ethan, William, and Jayden asked. We chose not to answer any more of their questions as the house finally came into view.

"You guys need to be quiet until we say so," I warned, not knowing the situation of the Weasley house at that moment. All the lights were still off as we entered the house. My aunt and uncle were probably still asleep, and Rose too since they all had this obsession with sleeping in. I slipped my shoes off near the door and padded across the carpeted floor to the kitchen, making sure the others followed what I did.

As I rounded the corner into the giant kitchen, I could hear someone whispering, as we got closer I saw that it was Rose with little Hugo clinging tightly to her as she tried reaching up into a cabinet.

"Morning Rose dear!" I said loudly, causing her to jump.

Hugo screeched happily, covering up Rose's curse, "Seriously! A little warning would be nice!" she snapped as she sat her baby brother down on the counter. Hugo was one of the most adorable babies I had ever seen. He had curly brown hair, bright blue eyes, and was a ball of energy.

"Nah," Teddy fell into one of the island stools before pulling Hugo towards him and started talking child-like to the baby.

"So this is where the great Rose Weasley lives!" Jayden spread his arms wide, causing Will and Ethan to duck, "not too shabby I must say."

Rose gave him a glare before throwing Teddy a cup full of milk for Hugo, "I really can't stand your 'humor' this early."

"It's almost eight," Ethan hopped onto the counter in front of her, pulling on a red strand of hair.

"Yeah! Early!" Rose snapped, throwing her hands in the air.

"Mum said I needed to come get some things for later," I decided to jump in as Rose's stare caught sight of her wand lying on the dining table.

Rose rolled her blue eyes, "Yeah, my mum would totally trust me to know what was needed," laughing she started walking out of the kitchen, "watch Hugo while I go try and find out."

We didn't have a chance to argue as she disappeared. The moment his sister left, Hugo began to wail, throwing his cup to the floor and screaming as loud as his little lungs would allow. I ran forward pulling Hugo into my arms, "There there kid, calm down."

"Oh Merlin! How can something so little be so bloody loud?" Jayden yelled, covering his ears.

Teddy and I tried talking to Hugo, handing him whatever we could get our hands on, we even tried distracting him with magic, making his toy soldiers actually start fighting with each other.

"Give me," Rose suddenly came back into the room, taking Hugo before we even comprehended she was back. The moment that baby was back in her arms, he stopped crying, laughing happily and clapping his hands, "Awe, did the mean ogres scare you?" she cooed as she sat him in his chair at the table.

"Ogres?" Will threw his head back and laughed.

"Yes, or are you suddenly deaf and can't hear?" Rose smirked as she leaned against the counter next to me. I noticed that she had changed out of her pajamas, wearing jean shorts and a Gryffindor shirt (which was mine) that was tied in the back, converse slipped onto her feet. For once Rose's long red hair was left down, flowing down her back, most of the time it was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Ha you kill me with your humor!" Ethan placed a hand over his heart.

"Good, it saves me time so I don't have to decide which Unforgiveable you truly deserve," Rose smiled angelically.

"You look pretty with your hair down," Ethan commented, running his fingers down a lock of the long red hair.

Rose looked at a loss of words at this compliment, for she chose instead to place her brother in a chair at the dining table.

It always amazed just how easy it was for Ethan to get Rose shocked, there was some weird obsession with him complimenting her, and I had to tell myself it was because he was her friend. I, of course being the older cousin to Rose, thought that it had to end. And when I confronted Ethan he merely told me to calm down and not worry. Well that was at the beginning of our last year and it still hadn't stopped. I was distracted from my thoughts as my uncle came into the room.

Uncle Ron didn't even look at us as he sat down at the kitchen table, putting his head in his arms, not even stirring when Hugo threw a block at him.

"What's with your dad?" Teddy whispered, poking Rose in the side.

"Long night, mum didn't come home till late and he tried staying up until she got home," my cousin answered quietly.

Aunt Hermione was one of the best Auror's out there, and Uncle Ron, along with my dad, worried about her a lot when she was out on missions. "How is she?" I asked.

Rose shrugged as she made her way over to her dad, "Dad, um…morning?"

"Go. Away," Ron growled.

Rose didn't need to be told twice as she started pushing us downstairs to the game room. Quietly closing the door she flopped down on the couch, only to be tackled by Will, who laughed as she kicked him off.

"Mum said she'll get up in a little bit to go and get the stuff," Rose said offhand as I turned the TV on and began flipping through the channels. We all got comfortable as a movie started. I sat next to my favorite cousin, asking a few questions here and there. Ethan was laying nest to her, his head in her lap as he kept the others off. Jayden was making some stupid joke about the movie, and Will and Teddy were playing Exploding Snap.

"Did you know that Malfoy Junior is staying at my house?" I asked, turning the channel.

Rose groaned, "Yes, and I already tried talking Al out of it."

"He can't be that bad," Ethan commented.

Rose stopped scratching his head to cover to him with a pillow, "I swear, if he says one thing to me, I'll punch him in the face, this time I won't miss."

"This time?" Jayden asked curiously, turning to look up at us.

"Oh that's right, didn't he call your mum a mudblood and you punched him?" I asked and she nodded.

"But you forget," Teddy smirked, "he grabbed her and they went flying over the railing and into the courtyard." We roared with laughter as Rose scowled.

"That's beside the point!" She snapped, "the point is, I will Avada him is he says one word. Or maybe Cruciatus would be more enjoyable."

"You are one Satanic girl," Ethan shook his head.

"And yet you love me," Rose smiled, while smacking him lightly over the head.

I spent most of the day at Rose's, choosing to allow my Aunt and Uncle to go over early, knowing that my mum was probably on a war path. This seemed to be the smart choice, because just a little after noon, Albus showed up suddenly, dragging a reluctant Scorpius behind him. I literally could feel the level of hate rolling off of Rose as she stormed out of the room, leaving a very confused brother of mine. He ran after Rose after his level of shock wore off, leaving the Slytherin Prince (well second prince) alone with us. H stood warily near the doorway, obviously ready for a quick escape, the guys and I ignored him. Scorpius actually wasn't that bad, yeah he was vile and could be stuck up and prejudice, but he was funny (at times) and last night he had actually engaged in a real conversation with me, not a battle of who could wound the others pride the most conversation, just a normal civilized conversation between two people.

It still blew my mind, just how much Rose hated Scorpius Malfoy. The funny part was, they were exactly alike. Hard headed, fierce, but both equally cared for the others around them. I remember one time Scorpius and Rosie got into this huge argument; it was so bad not even the professors wanted to break them up. I'm not too sure what Scorpius said, but suddenly Rose got real quiet and walked away, the guys and I had found her crying (and Rose NEVER cries) in the far end of the library. No matter what we tried to say, Rose wouldn't move from there. So we left, but not before we saw something very interesting. Scorpius walked over to Rose and kneeled in front of her, whispering something to her that clearly had Rose shocked. She smiled when he held his hand out and helped her up, and they went their separate ways. When I asked Rose about what I had seen, all she said was that Scorpius had actually apologized and she was as shocked as I was.

Albus couldn't get anything out of Rose, for he stayed upstairs until we were needed back home. Rose put herself between me and Ethan the whole time as we walked, catching Scorpius' gaze only to have both of them glare, and then turn away. The walk lasted a millennium it seemed, no one dared speak a word, even Jayden knew that one word could lead to a possible explosion. The moment we entered the house Rose darted to where ever my sister and Stella were, not saying a word. Scorpius dragged Al downstairs, and we were left alone.

"I have a feeling that something is going to go wrong," Teddy sighed as he massaged his temple.

Feeling my own headache coming on, I couldn't have agreed more.

**ScorpiusPOV**

You know that feeling you get in your gut, the one that is screaming that something BIG is about to happen, and you're not going to like it? Yeah, I was feeling that right now. Currently my gut was yelling at me to get the hell away from the Potter household, even if it meant getting in trouble, or even suffering humiliation of the cowardice nature. Surely nothing that bad could happen, right? Wrong, the moment I set eyes on that Weasley girl, and automatically felt her full force glare, I knew something was going to happen. If we had been at Hogwarts, I would have been taunting her the moment I caught the gaze, but considering I was staying at a house full of Gryffindor's (and two Ravenclaws) I didn't feel the urge to commit my own suicide mission.

Instead I decided the best thing to do was avoid Rose, pushing all thought of the flaming red head into the farthest recesses of my mind as Al and I started a game of Wizards Chess. Just as I was getting into the mood, we were interrupted with the announcement that my father had just arrived. Albus started laughing the moment Harry left the room with a scowl on his face; obviously Al thought this was going to be a show. I just hoped that my dad wouldn't do anything to disrespect our family.

So Al and I crept up the stairs as slowly as possible, I even tried stalling all the way into the kitchen. I prepared for the sight of my dad and locked in a fist fight, with Mr. Weasley trying to hold dad still, but what I saw truly floored me. All three men were sitting on the overhang at a table, sipping out of plastic red cups, Harry laughing at something my dad had said. Ron smirked, his posture stiff whereas Harry's was completely relaxed. What truly surprised me was when my dad started laughing at something Harry said. Surely I must be in an alternate universe.

"Mum, did you poison them?" Albus whispered to Ginny.

"No we did not," my mum snapped playfully, waving her wand so that some knives could begin chopping so vegetable. She placed a hand on my head.

"First your brother and sister accuse me of slipping them lot out there something, and then my own niece asks if I've confunded anyone," shook her head, "you all have no faith in me."

"Can you blame them Gin?" Hermione asked, smiling as she stirred something in a pot, "I mean, those three did fight like cats and dogs all through their Hogwarts years."

"Coming from the woman who broke Draco's nose?" Mrs. Potter laughed loudly as Mrs. Weasley smirked.

"You broke my dad's nose?" I asked, stealing a bite from the table with Al.

"Sure did," Hermione smiled broadly, "it was one of my fondest memories of your father."

"And I can assure you, it wasn't one of my own," dad walked in, leaving Harry and Ron on the porch outside. He leaned against the counter, grabbing a chip and taking off a bite, "trust me Granger, if you weren't a girl, I would have hit you back."

"Mmhhmm, that's it alright," Hermione laughed rolling her eyes, "you just don't want to look like a loser in front of your own kid ferret."

"And the name sparring begins!" Dad thrust his arms in the arm dramatically, causing me to choke on my pumpkin juice.

"Let's leave before I see any other weird sides of my dad I didn't know he had," I grabbed Albus' sleeve, but he pulled away. By now everyone was in the kitchen watching as Hermione battled my dad in a game of wits. I gave up on my attempt of getting Albus to leave, so I wandered outside, walking along the pool as Lily and Stella dove underwater, laughing when I kicked everything in. It got old soon though and I wound up taking some hidden stairs up to a smaller gated yard. Opening the white paint peeled iron; I brushed some ivy out of the way. There was a play set made of wood built magically into a tree. The swings were held together with what looked like vines.

My stomach clenched as I saw none other than Rose Weasley sitting on one of those said swings. But that wasn't the reason why my stomach was clenching; it was of because of what she was doing. Standing in front of her was James' friend Ethan Chance, leaning down and doing something that had my head racing, and my stomach twisting into fiery knots. He was kissing Rose Weasley, and for some reason, I found the urge to storm over and punch him in the face.

**A/N: Yes, yes I did just end that in a cliff hanger, and you are welcome :) Well guys I haven't been able to get in touch with Angel, so I decided to write this however I wanted. Don't get mad about the Ethan thing, I promise I'm going somewhere with that. Just chill, k? And please review since you all are amazing, right? Of course you are! ;) Until next time! **

**xoxoMax**

**PostScript: ONLY 6 MORE DAYS TIL HP PT. 2 COMES OUT! :D**

**Post Post Script: And I did in fact write this chapter to Justin Bieber Pandora Radio Station :) Don't judge, it gave you an update, right?**


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